Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site

Center and and lower right: Prisoners install culverts at Catnip Crossing located at milepost 8.8 between Thimple Peak Vista and Seven Cataracts Vista

Inscription.

Catalina Federal Honor Camp. Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site. . Why Put A Prison On A Mountain? . . Honor Camp prisoners built the Mt. Lemmon Highway . . In the early 20th century, the only road to Mt. Lemmon began at the town of Oracle and snaked up the north face of the mountain. . . Construction of the Mt. Lemmon Highway, a much shorter route from Tucson, began in 1933. To cut cost, prisoners supplied most of the labor, and a "Federal Honor Camp" was built here in 1939 to replace the temporary prison camps along the route. . . At first, prisoners had only picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows to use. "Before I went to the Honor Camp, I thought prisoners only broke rocks with picks in cartoons," one former prisoner recalls. Roadwork progressed faster when jackhammers, bulldozers, and tractors were added. . . A Prison Without Bars . There were no fences or guard towers at the camp: painted white rocks marked the camp boundary. Prisoners lived in wooden barracks near the creek. Besides constructing the highway, prisoners built the rock walls, poured the foundations for administration buildings and the guards' quarters, and grew much of their own food at a farm located near the base of the mountain. . . After the Mt. Lemmon Highway was completed, the prison site hosted a series of youth rehabilitation camps until it closed in 1973. The buildings were removed, and today the "prison camp" is one of many recreation sites maintained along the Mt. Lemmon Highway by the Coronado National Forest. . . The Honor Camp Today . Although much is known about the history of the Honor Camp, there is little left to see of the prison itself. Most of the buildings were razed when the camp closed in the 1970's. The story of the Honor Camp and its inmates has been reconstructed from official documents and interviews. But what about what was left behind? . . The arrangement of building foundations helps us to imagine what the prison looked like and to gain an understanding of the daily lives of the people who lived here. You can still experience the isolated setting that made this site ideal for an outdoor prison. Please explore this historical site, but do not remove artifacts of damage building remains. Help us preserve this piece of the past for the future. . . Relocation During World War II . 117,000 Japanese Americans were removed from their West Coast homes and imprisoned in internment camps. . After the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, nervous U.S. officials and political leaders were afraid that Americans of Japanese descent would conduct espionage and sabotage along the West Coast. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which authorized the Secretary of War to designate military areas from which "any or all persons may be excluded." . . What followed was the largest forced removal and incarceration in U.S. history. Some 117,000 people, two-thirds of them U.S citizens, were sent to ten internment camps, called "relocation centers," in remote parts of the country. In addition, thousands of Japanese American community leaders were taken to alien detention centers run by the Department of Justice. . . Hirabayashi Challenged the Constitutionality of Relocation . Gordon Hirabayashi was a senior at the University of Washington in Seattle when Japanese Americans were ordered to leave the West Coast. Instead of reporting for relocation, Hirabayashi turned himself in to the F.B.I. He challenged the constitutionality of internment and a curfew imposed on enemy aliens and Japanese American citizens alike, since both were orders based solely on race or ancestry. He was convicted of violating both the relocation order and the curfew. . . Hirabayashi requested that his sentence be extended so that he would qualify to serve at an outdoor prison work camp. The government did not want to pay his way to the Honor Camp in Santa Catalinas, so Hirabayashi hitchhiked to Tucson, stopping to visit his family interned in Idaho along the way. When he arrived, he had to convince the Federal Marshal that he was indeed to be imprisoned. Hirabayashi went to a movie while waiting for the Marshal to find his papers. . . Who is Gordon Hirabayashi? . In 1942, at age 24, Gordon Hirabayashi challenged the relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. . . Convicted of violating a curfew imposed on Japanese Americans, he was sentenced to the Catalina Federal Honor Camp, the work camp that stood here between 1939 and 1973. . . Hirabayashi's case was reopened in 1987 and led to official apologies from the U.S. government for the mass incarceration of 117,000 Japanese American citizens and aliens alike. . . Righting a Wrong . Forty years after Hirabayashi's original conviction, law historian Peter Irons discovered documents showing that the Justice Department had withheld evidence that the forced removal and internment of Japanese Americans was unnecessary. . . Hirabayashi's case was reopened, and in 1987, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his conviction. . . Later, a federal commission determined that the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was motivated by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and failed political leadership.

Why Put A Prison On A Mountain?

Honor Camp prisoners built the Mt. Lemmon Highway

In the early 20th century, the only road to Mt. Lemmon began at the town of Oracle and snaked up the north face of the mountain.

Construction of the Mt. Lemmon Highway, a much shorter route from Tucson, began in 1933. To cut cost, prisoners supplied most of the labor, and a "Federal Honor Camp" was built here in 1939 to replace the temporary prison camps along the route.

At first, prisoners had only picks, shovels, and wheelbarrows to use. "Before I went to the Honor Camp, I thought prisoners only broke rocks with picks in cartoons," one former prisoner recalls. Roadwork progressed faster when jackhammers, bulldozers, and tractors were added.

A Prison Without Bars
There were no fences or guard towers at the camp: painted white rocks marked the camp boundary. Prisoners lived in wooden barracks near the creek. Besides constructing the highway, prisoners built the rock walls, poured the foundations for administration buildings and the guards' quarters, and grew much of their own food at a farm located near the base of the mountain.

After the Mt. Lemmon Highway was completed, the prison site hosted a series of youth rehabilitation camps until it closed in 1973. The

By Bill Kirchner, August 18, 2010

2. Catalina Federal Honor Camp

Markers are located at the kiosk at the end of this concrete pathway.

buildings were removed, and today the "prison camp" is one of many recreation sites maintained along the Mt. Lemmon Highway by the Coronado National Forest.

The Honor Camp Today
Although much is known about the history of the Honor Camp, there is little left to see of the prison itself. Most of the buildings were razed when the camp closed in the 1970's. The story of the Honor Camp and its inmates has been reconstructed from official documents and interviews. But what about what was left behind?

The arrangement of building foundations helps us to imagine what the prison looked like and to gain an understanding of the daily lives of the people who lived here. You can still experience the isolated setting that made this site ideal for an outdoor prison. Please explore this historical site, but do not remove artifacts of damage building remains. Help us preserve this piece of the past for the future.

Relocation During World War II
117,000 Japanese Americans were removed from their West Coast homes and imprisoned in internment camps.
After the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, nervous U.S. officials and political leaders were afraid that Americans of Japanese descent would conduct espionage and sabotage along the West Coast. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive

Upper Photo: All that remains of the employees' housing are the foundations and the steps behind you. Photo, 1944
courtesy of the National Archives

Lower Photo: A ballfield at the prison camp also provided space to train inmates in the use of heavy equipment. The prisoners played against the University of Arizona - always at home.

Order 9066, which authorized the Secretary of War to designate military areas from which "any or all persons may be excluded."

What followed was the largest forced removal and incarceration in U.S. history. Some 117,000 people, two-thirds of them U.S citizens, were sent to ten internment camps, called "relocation centers," in remote parts of the country. In addition, thousands of Japanese American community leaders were taken to alien detention centers run by the Department of Justice.

Hirabayashi Challenged the Constitutionality of Relocation
Gordon Hirabayashi was a senior at the University of Washington in Seattle when Japanese Americans were ordered to leave the West Coast. Instead of reporting for relocation, Hirabayashi turned himself in to the F.B.I. He challenged the constitutionality of internment and a curfew imposed on enemy aliens and Japanese American citizens alike, since both were orders based solely on race or ancestry. He was convicted of violating both the relocation order and the curfew.

Hirabayashi requested that his sentence be extended so that he would qualify to serve at an outdoor prison work camp. The government did not want to pay his way to the Honor Camp in Santa Catalinas, so Hirabayashi hitchhiked to Tucson, stopping to visit his family interned in Idaho along the way. When he arrived, he had to convince the

By Bill Kirchner, August 18, 2010

4. Who were the Prisoners?

Most prisoners had been convicted of breaking tax or immigration laws. Many had refused to join the military for moral or religious reasons. These conscientious objectors included Hope Indians from northern Arizona and Jehovah's Witnesses. Some, like Gordon Hirabayashi, were citizens who protested the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II

Federal Marshal that he was indeed to be imprisoned. Hirabayashi went to a movie while waiting for the Marshal to find his papers.

Who is Gordon Hirabayashi?
In 1942, at age 24, Gordon Hirabayashi challenged the relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Convicted of violating a curfew imposed on Japanese Americans, he was sentenced to the Catalina Federal Honor Camp, the work camp that stood here between 1939 and 1973.

Hirabayashi's case was reopened in 1987 and led to official apologies from the U.S. government for the mass incarceration of 117,000 Japanese American citizens and aliens alike.

Righting a Wrong
Forty years after Hirabayashi's original conviction, law historian Peter Irons discovered documents showing that the Justice Department had withheld evidence that the forced removal and internment of Japanese Americans was unnecessary.

Hirabayashi's case was reopened, and in 1987, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his conviction.

Later, a federal commission determined that the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II was motivated by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and failed political leadership.

Erected by Coronado National Forest.

Location.

By Bill Kirchner, August 18, 2010

5. The Honor Camp Today

Photo Captions:

Upper Photo: The Federal Honor Camp during the construction of the Catalina Highway, looking southwest.

Lower Photo: The remains of the Federal Honor Camp as it appeared in 1999.

Seen on the marker is a site map of the honor farm; its buildings and recreation areas.

32° 20.35′ N, 110° 43.083′ W. Marker is near Tucson, Arizona, in Pima County. Marker can be reached from Mount Lemmon Highway. Touch for map. Marker is in the Gordon Hirabayashi Recreation Site at mile 7.3 on the Mount Lemmon Highway. Park at the first parking area on the right and then walk about 100 feet west to the first foot bridge. Marker is just across the bridge. Marker is in this post office area: Tucson AZ 85749, United States of America.

Photo captions:
Upper left photo: During evacuation internees wore name tags to ensure that family members were assigned to the same camp. The majority of internees were elderly or children.Photo by Dororbea Lange, 1942, courtesy of the Bancroft Library

Upper right photo: People were given anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks to sell off their property or find someone to watch over it. Homes, farms, fishing boats, and businesses worth billions in today's dollars were lost, through under-valued sales or outright theft. Here a soldier posts Exclusion orders, March 1942.Photo from the National Archives, courtesy of the National Japanese American Historical Society.

Lower left photo: Anyone with 1/16 or more Japanese ancestry had to leave California, western Oregon, western Washington, and southern Arizona. Detainees arrive by train at the Santa Anita Detention Camp, April 1942Photo by Glenn Abers, courtesy of the National Japanese American Historical Society

Lower right photo: Propaganda to boast American's fighting spirit, like this U.S. Army poster, fueled racial prejudices

By Bill Kirchner, August 18, 2010

10. Hirabayashi Challenged the Constitutionality of Relocation

By Bill Kirchner, August 18, 2010

11. Who is Gordon Hirabayashi?

By Bill Kirchner, August 18, 2010

12. Who is Gordon Hirabayashi?

By Bill Kirchner, August 18, 2010

13. Righting a Wrong

By Bill Kirchner, August 18, 2010

14. Righting a Wrong

In 1988 President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, which acknowledged injustice and apologized for the internment.Photo courtesy of the National Japanese American Historical Society

By Bill Kirchner, August 18, 2010

15. Gordon Hirabayashi

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on August 19, 2010, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. This page has been viewed 2,429 times since then and 86 times this year. Last updated on May 6, 2015, by J. Makali Bruton of Querétaro, Mexico. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. submitted on August 19, 2010, by Bill Kirchner of Tucson, Arizona. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.

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